Akin adviser Rick Tyler said Rove spoke with Akin Friday about his remarks, and that the Akin camp believes it would be appropriate for Rove to make a public apology as well.

"I'm assuming that Karl will make a public apology," Tyler said. "The right thing to do would be for Karl to make a public apology. We appreciate the personal apology."

Bloomberg Businessweek reported earlier that Rove told a gathering of donors in Tampa that Akin had to be forced out of the Senate race, and joked that if Akin were "found mysteriously murdered, don't look for my whereabouts."

Tyler said Rove called the embattled Senate candidate and "spent about three minutes" explaining that he didn't know there had been a reporter in the room and that he would not have made such a comment if he'd been aware of her presence.

"After about three minutes, Todd asked: are you calling to apologize?" recounted Tyler, who said that Rove responded in the affirmative.

"Todd was gracious and he accepted his apology," Tyler said, adding that the episode had not changed Akin's determination to continue his campaign: "Akin's in it to stay."

Rove and other national Republicans have pressured Akin to end his Senate campaign and the Rove-linked group American Crossroads has canceled its advertising in Missouri.

The firestorm surrounding Akin's candidacy began when the congressman told a TV interviewer that victims of "legitimate rape" rarely become pregnant. Akin apologized for the statement.